MULUKEN MELLESSE - MULUKEN MELLESSE WITH THE DAHLAK BAND
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The first vinyl reissue of Muluken Mellesse’s Muluken Mellesse With The Dahlak Band revives a defining moment in the Ethiopian groove era – a late masterpiece from swinging Addis that captured the height of modern Ethiopian music before the Derg’s crackdown silenced its creative momentum.
Originally issued in 1976 on Kaifa as one of the final vinyl releases produced in Ethiopia, the album sits at the core of Ethiopiques 31, its tracks long celebrated across the series. Muluken’s recordings had already opened Ethiopiques 1 and resurfaced throughout later volumes, tracing his evolution alongside The Equators, who would soon become the Dahlak Band.
The record’s opener, ‘Hedetch Alu’ – Muluken’s debut, cut when he was just 17 – stunned early listeners with a voice so pure and agile it was often mistaken for female. By the time this LP appeared, he had distilled that youthful brilliance into a sophisticated, deeply expressive style that defined an era cut short by political upheaval.
This reissue offers a rare, complete portrait of an artist at his peak and of a scene on the verge of disappearance.
Originally issued in 1976 on Kaifa as one of the final vinyl releases produced in Ethiopia, the album sits at the core of Ethiopiques 31, its tracks long celebrated across the series. Muluken’s recordings had already opened Ethiopiques 1 and resurfaced throughout later volumes, tracing his evolution alongside The Equators, who would soon become the Dahlak Band.
The record’s opener, ‘Hedetch Alu’ – Muluken’s debut, cut when he was just 17 – stunned early listeners with a voice so pure and agile it was often mistaken for female. By the time this LP appeared, he had distilled that youthful brilliance into a sophisticated, deeply expressive style that defined an era cut short by political upheaval.
This reissue offers a rare, complete portrait of an artist at his peak and of a scene on the verge of disappearance.
Pickup available at Dreamhouse Records London
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